Tuesday, November 3, 2009

USS Grenadier SS-210Please forward this to any one who may have knowledge of this flag.
It was one of my late father's areas of interest. This was written by my sister.
Our father was on this ship. ( Johnson, Charles E.) Thank You,Kim

From: Jeanna Smith To: hawkeye@beachlink.comSent: Sat, October 31, 2009 2:07:17 PMJohn,Thank you for your ongoing e-mails. As you know dad was very devoted tothe memory of the Grenadier USS 210. One of the issues he and Idiscussed was the picture I have attached. He often said that he wishedthat whom ever had possession of the American flag in this picture wouldhave it in their heart to loan or donate it to the Museum in Ga. Iunderstand there is a wall mural of this picture in the museum. He wasnot sure who had this flag last and was concerned that as the generationspassed that the significance of this piece of history would diminish. The history as I recall was that the flag was drawn on a white sheet withcolored pencils given to the POWs by the civilians during the liberation,someone correct me if I am wrong. I need your help in circulating thise-mail in hopes that someone will know the whereabouts of this archive.

8 comments:

My dad was James D. Landrum. He was an electricians mate on the Grenadier and spent 29 months as a POW of the Japanese. Dad is the one in the center of the photo holding the American Flag. It was my understanding that the POWs STOLE the bed sheet and colored pencils to make the flag. Many prisoners wanted nothing to do with it because they feared what the Japanese guards would do to them if caught. POWs would place the flag on the roof of one of the buildings hoping Allied planes would spot it. When liberated, the POWs placed the flag on a fireman's hook (the pole) and stormed through the main gate and the guards that were left. In the picture, my dad said, " Anyone getting in front of the American Flag is going in the water!"

I am Lisa the youngest of Charles "John" I took my parents t the POW museum in Andersonville Ga and as we turned the corner going into the museum there stood the photograph of the above picture. Dad stood there with tears in his eyes and stated that he wished the flag was found and donated to the POW museum in Andersonville. Please if anyone has this flag let this site know. It is a testament of the courage that these brave men had to make an American Flag while in captivity.

My father was EM Ralph L. Adkins. I'm not certain which one in the photo is him, but I believe he is the one in the second row directly behind the two men in the front with arms crossed over each other's. I have a photo of him, J.C. Embry, and 4 other men (whose names escape me at the moment) in the transport facility in the Philippines after they were liberated from Kokura.

My Grandfather was a POW from the USS Grenadier (SS210). This posting has the name listed erroneously. My Grandfather was Virgil A. Ouillette. I believe that the commas separating the first from last names has been misplaced.

My father is seen waving the Flag in the photo. His name is James Dennis "Slim" Landrum EM1C on the USS Grenadier SS210. I have had contact with Jeanna Johnson Smith and she sent me an article dated July 3, 1973 about the Flag. I contacted several museums before talking with a curator at the Navy History and Heritage Command in Washington D. C. We located the Flag and Jeanna, two of my sisters and I went there and viewed the Flag. On August 29th (68th anniversary of the Liberation) more of my family went to see the Flag. There are seven siblings and we took some others with us. The Museum is in the process of preserving and mounting it in a glass frame for temporary display. It is possible that it will be displayed in Richmond, Va. in early 2014 at the Virginia War Memorial. I would really like relatives of the Grenadier crew to contact me so I can gather more information about them. The first visit to see the Flag was video taped and shown on the Armed Forces Network and was in "All Hands". I look forward to sharing information about the Grenadier POW experience as some the survivors didn't talk about their war years.

Flag update! The Flag will be on display at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond Virginia on 9 April 2014 for about a year. It will be on loan from the Navy Yard Museum in DC. Please....anyone related to these survivors of the USS Grenadier SS210 or of the Japanese POW Camp contact me for more information. geraldlandrum@comcast.net

I am the grandson of EM3 Lesley L Barker and was wondering if any of you that had relatives that spoke of the Grenadier ever spoke of "the one left behind"? My understanding is that my grandfather had taken ill and rather than get sent to another camp he was left behind in Penang.W. Paul Bentley